


Til Death Do Us Part?

by Jairephix, TaraHarkon



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-01-03 18:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 4,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12152334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jairephix/pseuds/Jairephix, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon
Summary: Preventing the end of the world? Easy mode. Life after? Surprisingly complicated.Sometimes it's the little things that cause the biggest problems in life, but a little communication can solve a lot of problems.





	1. Lup

Lup leaned back on the couch, relaxing with her brother’s boyfriend, and technically her reaping supervisor, while her brother cooked dinner and her boyfriend was out picking up some supplies for a magical experiment they were going to try later. Nothing necromantic, of course. They’d promised. Hands behind her head, she turned to glance at Kravitz.

  
“Hey, Ghostrider, weird question.”

  
“Yeah, Lup?”

  
“Are reapers allowed to…uh…get married and junk?”

  
She had meant her and Barry. Not that they really needed to, or wanted to. Probably. It had just sort of been on her mind lately what with Carey and Killian, and talking to Magnus about his life. And okay, maybe she had been considering bringing it up to Barry. What she hadn’t meant was for Kravitz to suddenly turn approximately the color of a bruised tomato. What she hadn’t meant was for Taako to hear her stupid question, which he clearly had, judging by how many pots he’d just dropped in the kitchen. What was he doing, levitating them while he cooked? Oh yes, today, she was the idiot. Clearly, she was going to have to clean up this mess. And not the one Taako was making in the kitchen. That was all him.

Kravitz got up off the couch so fast that he nearly pitched forward, his scythe appearing in his hand as he moved.

“I….I have to go. I left the stove on. In the Astral Plane.”

Lup leaned forward, scrubbing at her face with one hand. This was not going anything like she'd planned. It was a simple question. Yes or no, not activate panic mode.

“That sounds fake, but okay.”

And he was gone through his rift. With a sigh, Lup got up to go into the kitchen. Had to make sure Taako was still alive under whatever the hell he’d dropped, after all. She'd deal with getting answers out of Kravitz later, when he didn't look like he had a train speeding at his face.

She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms.

“Hey Doofus, you okay in here?”


	2. Taako

He had only wanted to make dinner. It was even simple, too. A nice Chicken Florentine, some glazed carrots, a fresh salad maybe? A nice set of greens with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. If he was feeling up to it, a nice round of garlic rolls wouldn't go amiss. A hearty dinner, one that made you feel at home and full, warm from the inside out.

Lup's voice, something he still so desperately missed after a decade of not hearing it, not knowing he needed to hear it, drifted in from the living room. He chuckled softly to himself. Ghost Rider. Brilliant. But her question was so out of the blue that even Taako couldn't predict that his twin would ask.

“Are reapers allowed to…uh…get married and junk?”

He stood upright too fast, hand still clenched around the pot he needed, as he pulled every single cooking implement out of the cabinet with him. _What._ No. Lup? Married? That would be insane.  Wouldn't it? Then again, they had known Barold for...what? Over a century? With the two years needed to prep them for the IPRE mission, and then the century aboard the ship. Technically, Lup and Barry had been dating for nearly 50 years. Over? Gods, he felt old for a moment. Barry was human, after all. He had looked for her for a decade, and they fell back into their relationship...if that's not dedication to romance, Taako didn't know what was.

He was so wrapped up in his shock, he missed Kravitz's hasty exit, and nearly threw the one pot he was holding as his twin spoke from the doorway. "Hey, Doofus, you okay in here?"

"Fuckin' shit, Lup. I'm in The _Zone_ here, and you just scared the life outta me."

"The Zone of Frying Pans?”

“Ugh, Lulu, that was the worst possible pun. You could try harder, you know.”

“Fuck off. Taako, you look like--" Lup paused, and he knew why. They weren't identical any more, and the only time he dropped his illusions were with people he trusted. With his family. She was going to tell him he looked like a mess, and she was right. What kind of chef let his kitchen get this messy?

His wand was pulled from his back pocket, casting Mage Hand to help scoop up the dropped things from the floor and pile them near the sink. They'd have to be cleaned before use, now, no matter how clean he kept his kitchen. "So. Were you going to tell me that you're eloping with Barry before you told my boyfriend?"


	3. Lup

Lup had regretted the words she was about to say even before they left her mouth. Worse, she had seen the look on his face and knew he knew what she had been about to say. It was just that she couldn't fall back on that old jibe. They weren't identical any more and it wasn't fair. She watched his spell tidying up and smiled a little. Then Taako’s question made it through to her mind.

"So. Were you going to tell me that you're eloping with Barry before you told my boyfriend?"

“Okay, slow down there. No one said we were  _ eloping _ . I was asking a question. I'm allowed to be curious. It's not like... it's not like I talked to Barry or anything. I just wanted to know.”

If her words came just a little too fast, were just a little too defensive. Well, maybe Taako wouldn't notice. Unlikely, but possible. She moved to the sink, taking up a pan to start scrubbing. Taako set his pot on the stove, adjusting the heat.

“Anything I can help with other than these?”

“And let you ruin my dinner?”

Taako feigned indignance and she started laughing. At least things still seemed alright with Taako. Not weird, not different. Just what they were supposed to be.

“Whatever. Oh, and I think it's just going to be you and me after all. Kravitz bailed. He said something about leaving his stove on. In the Astral Plane.” She raised her hands, motioning quotes around Kravitz’s words. “Does he even have a stove?”


	4. Taako

_ They aren’t running away, she’s not leaving and not coming back again.  _ Taako let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding as the teasing came back naturally.  _ Allowed to be curious. Sure, Lulu. _ He let it slide, knowing her reaction would probably be more than a little inflammatory, in the most literal sense of the word.

Silence settled in between them for the briefest of moments, before she asked about other help. “And let you ruin my dinner?” The performance side of him never died, even after Glamour Springs, and Lup appreciated it. His over the top ways always made her laugh. He relaxed, knowing everything was right. His sister was here, his boyfriend was more than happily accepted into the family--

“Kravitz bailed.” Taako froze. “Does he even have a stove?”

_ Who would even have me who even cares that I’m here he left without saying anything to me he left he left-- _

Taako shook his head, his smile sitting more uneasily on his lips. “I don’t know. I don’t visit Halloweentown if I can help it. Too ‘spooky-scary-skeletons’ if you ask me.” He knew Lup caught the waver in his voice, the shake of his hand as he reached for the cream. They couldn’t really hide anything from each other. Who else knew the other’s actions so well?

“Hey, bro-bro. You okay?”

“I. I don’t know.”

“You know he didn’t run away from you, right?”

“I guess.”

“Taako. Listen to me. I work with him. If he ever ditched you, I’d leave him  _ in  _ a ditch for you.”

He knew she would. He took a deep breath, fighting against the swelling panic. Panic attacks just lead to burnt cream sauces, and that was a  _ tragedy _ . “Thanks, Lup.”

“Now let me help with that--” Taako shrieked, pulling the chicken away from his twin.

“That’s a fucking cleaver! You can’t just skin a chicken with that!”


	5. Kravitz

Kravitz was screaming on the inside. Okay, and on the outside too. It wasn't like it would bother the dead.

Why the fuck had he done that? Had he seriously just ran? Oh, sure, I can kiss him when the world is ending, but his sister asks me about weddings and I bolt like an idiot? Good job, Kravitz. Good job. But shit, what if she was asking for Taako? What if he said something to her? He would. They're twins. They tell each other everything.

Kravitz leaned on his scythe and tried to calm himself back down. Breathing would have been seriously useful right about then. Seriously useful. Okay, so maybe Taako wanted to get married. Maybe. How would it work? Taako couldn't come to the Astral Plane full time unless he- Nope, not thinking about that. And it wasn't like Kravitz could move to the Prime Material Plane. Not full time, anyway.

He sat down hard, his back against the Stockade. And that was assuming the Raven Queen even allowed it. Dammit, he was dead, after all. It wasn't like he had ever considered any of this in terms of him and his life. Love was one thing.

You can have love in unusual places, but something as normal as marriage?


	6. Lup

Lup put away the last of the clean dishes from dinner and sighed. Taako had only barely held it together through dinner. Hopefully, he was in his room, but she honestly hadn't checked yet. She was two for two on massive fuckups today and a quick glance out the window said that Barry would home soon. Maybe she should just tell him another time, sexy, I'm having a break-everything-I-touch kind of day. She heard the sound of something shattering and opened her eyes. One of the dishes lay in pieces on the floor and she wasn't facing the cabinets now. Lup didn't even know when she'd turned, just that she must have thrown it. Slowly, she let herself sink to the floor and closed her eyes again taking deep breaths. She knew she would have to clean that up before Taako noticed. He already had his own problems and did not need hers. Math had always helped. Times tables were a wonder for calming her back down and within minutes, she was dumping the shards of dishware into the trash. She was going to do a magical experiment with her boyfriend and she was going to enjoy it, dammit. Then, she was going to go give Spooky McGhostface a piece of her mind, probably a fist-shaped piece.

“Lup, Taako, I'm home!” Barry walked in the door with a smile on his face and a bag in his hand. “I got everything we needed, Lup. I may have gone a little overboard on how much soulwood we needed, based on the calculations but it was half-off so...” That was when he turned into the kitchen and looked at her. “Everything okay?”

Lup sighed and hugged him tightly.

“Just having a day and a half. If I hurt anyone else, just make a new umbra staff and shove me in it, kay?”

Her tone was light, almost joking. But Barry knew her well enough by now to know what was what, especially when she rested her head against his shoulder and he could feel her trembling.


	7. Taako

He knew it was old insecurities. He knew it was held over from the years before the IPRE, from those years where it was just the two of them. But the confession he had given, not that long ago, rang loud and clear in his mind.

_ “I’m just afraid that if I leave...who would have me?” _

It was that thought, twisted and turned into an internal loop of self-doubt, that lead to sleepless nights and calls when Taako felt weakest. As it was, he couldn’t bring himself to cook couldn’t bring himself to leave his room. Nothing felt right. Even as gross as it was, it was a struggle to bring himself to even bathe. It didn’t matter.

“Kravitz, it’s...it’s me,” he uttered, the few times his Stone of Farspeech was answered. “I. I just...hope you’re okay. It’s just a reaping, right? You’ve just been busy?”

“Krav...please? Just…” That one, Lup was screaming something in the background, something he couldn’t quite make out. It sounded like Barry had it under control, so it set it out of his mind, at least for now.

Another was early morning, after another night of restless sleep and nightmares of being passed around and around. “Fine, whatever, I’m Taako! I don’t need...I...Please. Krav. Come home? I need you.”

The last was a quiet, choked sentence, thick with emotion and unshed tears. He hated being this weak, this vulnerable. He was Taako! The most brilliant wizard the multiverse had ever seen. And he had to fight from letting his mind turn dark, from telling him that he really didn’t have any worth. That Kravitz was tired of him, and had found an excuse to ditch him.

“Please,” came the last call, “I just...I just need you to tell me. Fucking shit, I don’t care if it’s to tell me you only wanna see me again when I’m  _ dead _ just...talk to me, Krav.” He paused, trying to hold back tears. It wouldn’t do to break down sobbing the late at night. Lup would wake up. She’d kick in the door and ask what was wrong, and he couldn’t lie to her. Not to Lup. To the rest of the world, he would. But never to Lup.

“I want you to come  _ home,  _ babe.”


	8. Lup

Kravitz was a dead man. Okay, a more dead man. She had heard Taako on the stone of far speech more than once already and she hadn't exactly been seeing Kravitz either. She would wake up some mornings and find a bounty on the table waiting for her. So either Kravitz was dropping them off, or the Raven Queen had other ways to get messages to her Reapers. Barry stood, one hand outstretched. He was speaking too and she knew she should probably stop and listen, but he had the look of someone trying to calm her down. Lup did not want to be calmed. She wanted her twin to be happy.

“Lup. Lup, please.”

She didn't hear Barry’s words though, didn't see Taako in his own room on his stone of far speech. She just felt the anger surging in her like it hadn't in a long time.

“If Jack Skellington thinks he can just make my brother cry and I'm not going to kick his ass into another plane of existence, he's got another thing coming.”

She knew she was yelling and didn't care. She had learned patience about some things, about herself. That patience did not and would never extend to those who hurt the people she cared about. Barry put his hands on her shoulders and turned her so she had to look at him. He was quietly worried about both of the twins, and he hated what was happening but he had to do something.

“Lup, he can't hear you.”

For a moment, Lup looked like her temper was going to get the better of her. Then she took a long breath and closed her eyes. Barry made a snap decision then and kissed her gently. He held his hand out and his scythe materialized from the ether at his call.

“When was the last time you saw Taako eat something? For that matter, have _you_ eaten today? Take care of that, I’ll go talk to Kravitz.”


	9. Taako

He hated this feeling.

He had felt it before, this sense of wrong and missing, that he didn’t know was Lup being lost from his memory. He felt it when he woke up and found Sazed had abandoned both him and the wagon to hide from what they’d done.

Guilt at something that wasn’t his fault, weighing him down. It was like someone had turned just his lungs to stone, and he was trying to breathe. The world felt bleak, lifeless despite the noise and energy around him. Nothing brought him joy or a smile. Not even the new letter from Angus, that he swore he never looked forward to (he did), not the new recipe Ren sent him for review (it was fantastic, really), not even the thought of cooking his troubles away.

Taako couldn’t make himself do anything.

Of course, when he was wallowing in his own misery, Lup would kick in the door.

“Who’s your favorite sister?”

“You’re my only sister.”

“Exactly. So, get your ass up.”

“I don’t want to.”

She wouldn’t let that answer stand, of course. With a fierce grip, she pulled all the blankets off her moping brother. “Yeesh, Taako, you look like a wet dog.” It wasn’t an unfair assessment. His hair was tangled and flat to his skull with grease. Even with a good chunk of their shared elven features faded from his time in Wonderland, he didn’t normally look this worn down and exhausted. “Shit. When did you sleep last?”

“We’re elves, we don’t sleep.”

“Taako…”

“Have been. Hasn’t helped.”

Lup sighed, running a hand through her own hair. “Alright, mopebucket, get up and get bathed before I just conjure water over you.”

“You don’t do conjuration, you do evocation.”

“Bro, don’t test me.” A huge, melodramatic sigh sounded through him, and he sat up.

“Fine. Why?”

“Because at least one of us is going to make brownies and at least one of us will eat them with a giant ass bottle of Grey Goose and ice cream. Don’t care if you don’t help bake or eat, but you need to exist outside of your room. And you can’t have brownies until you eat like, a sandwich or something.”

Taako sighed again, and forced himself to his feet. “You’re right. Shoo, shoo. Give me a bit to not look like mushrooms are ready to sprout out of my hair.”

“Good. And also that’s gross.”


	10. Kravitz

Kravitz had been running himself ragged. It was the only way to keep from thinking, really. He had only paused for a moment back by the outer wall of the Stockade. By terrible luck, he ended up next to the stone of far speech he had left there. This time though, it was silent. Slowly, Kravitz sat and leaned against the wall, feeling as much like a prisoner as those he was charged with overseeing. Had Taako given up on him? Had he lost Taako because of this? He buried his head in his hands and pulled his knees up to his chest. He didn’t hear the sound of a scythe slicing through the planes, didn’t hear Barry’s steps on the island. So when Barry spoke, Kravitz nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Kravitz, we need to talk. Do you have any idea what you’re doing to Taako?” Kravitz looked up and started to open his mouth, but Barry kept right on going. “He hasn’t eaten in... Honestly, I don’t know since when. Lup is working on that, but she’s not doing much better because she’s been trying to take care of him. And if you weren’t basically my boss, I’d’ve punched you or something by now. Probably the ‘or something’, because I really can’t throw a punch.” Barry paused and shook his head. “Look, do you  _ want _ to slowly kill Taako? Because that’s what you’re doing right now.”

Kravitz scrubbed at his face for a moment before looking up at Barry again.

“What? He’s...he’s...what? I thought he was mad at me, not...not...”

Kravitz pulled himself to his feet slowly and then grabbed the stone of far speech.

“Taako? Love? Are you there?”


	11. Lup

Progress. They were making progress. Taako was sitting at the table with a sandwich in his hands, clean and looking slightly less like one of the undead. She’d even gotten him laughing with stories of the things she and Barry had been getting up to, including their recent trip to visit Magnus and the puppies. There were even brownies in the oven. Granted, she’d done all the baking but at least Taako was out of his room. So, of course, that was when his stone of far speech came to life.

“Taako? Love? Are you there?”

Lup didn’t think. She just picked up the stone before Taako could.

“Hey, Skeletor? It’s Lup. Unless you’re going to actually show up here and apologize to Taako, don’t fucking even.”

Then she slammed the mute button on the side to silence the reaper and slammed the stone down onto the table a little harder than she’d meant to.

“Lup-”

“He doesn’t deserve you, Koko.”

Leaning heavily against the table, Lup tried to catch her breath. She wasn’t exactly sure when she’d started breathing hard or when her pulse began to race.  _ Dammit _ . Her hands clenched into fists and she closed her eyes, squeezing them tight.  _ Dammit. _


	12. Taako

Taako had two options. One was to talk to his boyfriend who had finally had the cajones to call him back. The other was to talk his sister down, knowing how much she hated her temper getting away from her.

Of course he’d choose her over Kravitz any day. Bone Man would understand, no matter what. This was his sister, his twin, the only person who had been there for him for so much of their lives.

“Hey, Lulu. Lup.” Her head raised slowly, eyes dulled as she fought to keep her emotion in check. “Can...you tell me something?”

“What.” No sarcasm or terrible nicknames. She _was_ upset.

“That...whole thing that started this all. Why...why did you ask?”

Her stare stayed emotionless, just for a moment longer, before the focus snapped back to them, hard. “Wha-- Taako, you dipshit, I was just curious.”

“Seriously?”  
“Yeah, seriously! What, did you think I was going to get permission and then just fuckin’ run off? Shit, bro, that doesn’t even sound like something I’d do.”

He gave her a small, sheepish grin. “I panicked?”

“All of you dipshits did.” Lup sighed, and Taako forced the nerves out of his body. That’s what this was all about. Panic and miscommunication. “You’re lucky I like you assholes.”

“Love you too, Lup.”


	13. Lup

_Fuck_.

Lup scrubbed at her face before passing the stone of far speech over to Taako.

“Deal with this. I'm going to go... I don't know.” The timer for the stove dinged and Lup’s hands burst into flame. She paused for a moment, staring at the fire until it went out. “I'm going to go get the brownies out and then...” She started to say one thing, already contemplating the spell to conjure a bottle of vodka. Instead, she smiled and brushed her hair back out of her face. “Then I'm going to go practice my violin. It's been a long time.”

And that was what she did. With the brownies cooling on a rack on the counter and Taako on the stone of far speech, she pulled out her violin and checked the tuning of the strings. It took time and attention. Those were both very good things right now. Focusing on something small, something that required her full attention, was a very good way to get all of that anger coursing through her to stream away. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound when she drew the bow across the strings and smiled. She didn’t even think about it as the tones came into true, her fingers began to play the notes she knew so very well. With her eyes closed, she was there again. She could almost hear Barry’s half of the duet as she moved unfalteringly through her own half. Her smile gave way as she bit her lower lip in concentration as she refused to forget even a single measure of the song that they had written together in that one crazy, wonderful year. When she finally finished, she was breathing heavily again, but this time from the sheer rush of the music. Just before she opened her eyes, she heard soft applause. Barry was leaning in the door frame, a tender smile on his face. He cleared his throat before he spoke, sounding oddly choked up.

“When I left, Kravitz was finally talking to Taako. Hopefully those two will sort all of that out.” Then he paused, giving her that same smile again. “That was beautiful, Lup. Just like I remembered.”

She set the violin down on the bed and smiled, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks.

“Maybe we should play it again sometime, hun.” She rested her hand on his chest for a moment and then tugged him into the room. “Things are good here too, I think. Plus there’s brownies in the kitchen and you can literally never go wrong with brownies.”


	14. Taako

There were many things in Taako’s life he didn’t enjoy. Not knowing how to help Lup when she desperately needed it was numero uno. For a long moment, he stood there, saying nothing, not moving, trying to figure out everything that had just gone on. The first notes of music, the familiar sound of a bow being drawn over strings, pulled him back to himself. He fumbled, fingers moving clumsily over the surface to unmute the stone.

“Hey, Krav? You still there?”

No response came over the stone, but a soft sound that was utterly unmistakable to the elf now came from the doorway. He turned to see Kravitz step through, head hung in shame. They stood in silence, at least for a moment.

“Lup made brownies.”

The reaper laughed, tension starting to bleed out of his form. 

“Taako, I’m so sorry. I-I panicked, and I shouldn’t have just...I should have said something. It wasn’t right to just not…”

“Hey, hey. Handsome, chin up, a’right? No worries here.”

“I just thought...I thought she asked for you, and I panicked.”

“What?” Taako burst out laughing, throwing his arms over his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Babe. Cha’boy would be upfront with that. I’ve always been to the point with you. Taako speaks for Taako. I wouldn’t go through Lup for that.”

“I know. I do, I know. But…”

He leaned in, laying gentle kisses over the reaper’s lips and cheeks. “Hey. Taako’s good like this, yeah? Why worry about rings and ceremony and shit? I’m happy like this. As much as I love doing everything with panache and showing you off, why rush anything? I’ve got centuries still in me, my dude. We can take our time.”

“So, if she wasn’t asking for you…?”

“Lulu was legitimately asking in hypotheticals. Barold’s too damn shy, and would have freaked harder than you, babe. I’m pretty sure she just wanted to know in case she decides to just skip his meltdowns and go right for the marital kill.”

Kravitz sighed. “You’re right. I know you, and the two of them, better than that. I overreacted.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Taako let a loose, lopsided grin overtake his face. “We’re in new territory, for both of us. You’ve finally reached the Bone Zone--”

“Oh, gods, why did you just describe our sex life that way--”

“And...I’m learning to trust people again.” It was softer, more unsure. Kravitz squeezed his boyfriend tighter, leaning in for a proper kiss.

“We can do this together.”

“Well, duh. Now let’s cut into these brownies. They smell divine.”


	15. Kravitz

The brownies were, in fact, divine. And Kravitz didn't just say things like that. The only thing better was sitting on the couch with Taako leaning against him for the first time in what honestly felt like forever. Kravitz put an arm around Taako, holding him close, and sighed contentedly. Then he glanced at the plate of brownies sitting on the table. 

“Hey Taako, I thought you said Lup was the one that made the brownies.”

“Yeah? Why?”

Kravitz hesitated for just a moment.

“Aren’t she and Barry going to have some?”

Taako rolled his eyes and then rested his head against Kravitz’s shoulder.

"My dude, there's been a silence spell on Lup's room since just before you got here. I've been trying to ignore it."

Kravitz silently had to admit that he hadn’t noticed the spell until Taako mentioned it. Still, he felt a little awkward now.

“They could be doing anything in there. That doesn’t necessarily mean...”

“Barold’s home and they’re both in her room behind a silence spell. _What do you think they’re doing_?”

“...Cuddling?”

Kravitz said it sheepishly and he could already feel the laughter starting in Taako, could feel the little bit of shaking that precluded true unbridled laughter. Kravitz could listen to Taako laugh like that forever. He leaned in to kiss Taako on the cheek and then again just below his ear. Turning slightly, Taako returned the kisses with one of his own.

“You know, babe, we could go to my room and spend some time...cuddling.” Taako teased lightly. “If you wanted.”

Kravitz raised one eyebrow in artful suggestion and Taako grinned in return, standing in a fluid motion. He took Kravitz by the hand and pulled the reaper to his feet. And off they went, leaving the brownies and the living room behind.


End file.
